Thursday brought us 12.67 hours of strong sunshine although the UV level had dropped back to ‘High’. The maximum of 17.3C was down for the fourth consecutive day, but average for May, due to the very brisk northwesterly wind.
The clear skies overnight meant that the thermometer fell away until 5am when a low of 2.4C as reached.
Friday has dawned with broken cloud and intermittent sunshine that has lifted the temperature to 9.2C at 08.00.
Wednesday saw a lot of bright weather but sunshine amounts were much reduced from previous days with just 3.37 hours logged. As a consequence of the reduced sunshine and brisk westerly winds the maximum of 18.3C was lower than the previous five days but still 1.5C above average.
The notable aspect of Wednesday was the much increased UV reaching into the ‘Very High’ level with a reading of 8.4.
The first light rain from the next weather front started to fall just after 8 pm with another shower around midnight but no great quantity was recorded, only 0.5mm.
At dawn on Thursday the evidence of the hang back of cloud from the overnight weather front was seen moving eastwards allowing the sun to break through at 06.10. The overnight minimum was set at 06.11 with a reading of 6.8C that began to recover rapidly as the sun cleared the cloud so that by 08.00 the thermometer read 9.4C.
Tuesday brought us 11.4 hours of sunshine but the cooler, moister air from the Atlantic, brought on a brisk westerly air flow, meant that the temperature was well down on previous days, although the peak warmth of 20.3C was 3.5C above the May average. However, that maximum was a full 8C down on the previous day.
It was the sixth consecutive dry day. Evaporation from ground and plant life over the first eight days this month now totals 28mm whereas the rainfall is just 8.1mm. That is quite a change from the wetter than average months of March and April.
Wednesday dawned with thick fog reducing visibility to 150mm at dawn but slowly thinning to 1,500m by 08.00, as a result of the still air and cooler minimum of 5.8C overnight.
Monday saw the thermometer rise steadily to a maximum of 28.1C, a record high for a day in May, breaking the previous high of 27.8C set on 24.05.2010 and 11.3C above the 34-year average.
There was a light breeze, then from the east, which moderated the heat that the 14.0 hours of strong sunshine provided.
The UV level fell slightly from the peak on Sunday but still in the ‘High’ category.
As a consequence of the hot days and warmer nights, last night’s minimum was 8.3C being 1.3C above the average, the soil temperature at a depth of 5cm was 15.1C at 08.00 this morning.
Tuesday has dawned with misty conditions and sunshine from the start of the day. However, with the barometric pressure having fallen over the last three days, to its lowest this month, a change in our weather pattern is underway.
Sunday gave us a very warm and sunny day with 15.25 hours of strong sunshine, the sunniest day since May 6th last year. As a result of this extensive and strong sunshine the UV level rose into the ‘Very High’ category, not seen since the beginning of August last year.
The thermometer soared to a maximum of 25.3C being 8.5C above the 34-year average. It was a much warmer night with the lowest temperature of 7.1C, which was average for early May.
When readings were taken at 08.00 this morning the temperature had recovered to 14.5C heralding another very sunny and hot day with the UV level expected to again rise into the ‘Very High’ category.
Monday update at 13.00: heat surpasses peak of Sunday with current temperature of 25.5C. Gentle easterly breeze has sprung up to moderate heat. UV currently at ‘High’.
RECORD BROKEN at 16.20 today: thermometer reached 28.1C, which passed the previous record set on 24.05.2010 of 27.8C for any day in May including Mayday.